Category: SSPX

Archbishop Lefebvre on the Message of Fatima

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Newly restored post as of August 1, 2023

We begin August, month of the Immaculate Heart  of Mary with a short sermon the good Archbishop  gave more than 30 years ago at Fatima. to a large crowd of pilgrims and priests on the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  There is so much to think on in these words!

Sermon by Archbishop Lefebvre in Fatima, August 22, 1987

Let us give thanks to God and to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary for having gathered us today, on this feast of her Immaculate Heart, to sing her praises and to try for a few moments, for a few days, to live out our faith. For if the Virgin Mary wished to come to this land of Portugal, to Fatima, if She wished to appear to these few children to give them a message for the world, it is surely because She desired that our souls be lifted up toward heaven.

Let us try, then, my dear brothers and sisters, to place ourselves in the setting in which these little shepherds found themselves, like the persons who came to accompany them on the 13th of each month of that year 1917, until the month of October, when that extraordinary miracle took place, right here. Right here because, they say, this miracle was seen within a 40-kilometer [25-mile] radius of Fatima, and consequently, if we had been present on that day, October 13, 1917, we would have seen that extraordinary phenomenon of the spinning sun, shooting out lights of all colors, drenching the entire region with its magnificent colors. And it did this for thrice ten minutes! Finally, we would have seen the sun descending as it were from heaven to draw near to the faithful who were present, to manifest the truth of the apparition of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary to these children of Fatima.

So That Our Souls May be Saved

Once again, why this apparition of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary? It was so that our souls may be saved, it was so that our souls may go to join her one day in heaven.

In a few extraordinary pictures, She manifested to these children of Fatima the whole reality of our faith. Indeed, the children admired Her and admired Her in such a way that they were as if in ecstasy, rapt, carried away, not knowing how to express the beauty of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. However much anyone might have tried to provide them with comparisons, no comparison could be made in the sight of the beauty of the Virgin Mary whom they had seen.

And then the Virgin Mary was not the only one who was manifested. She wished to manifest something of heaven to them: Saint Joseph carrying Our Lord in his arms and blessing the world. She wished to appear also under the title of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Our Lady of Sorrows, and generally She appeared as Our Lady of the Rosary. This was because She wished to inculcate in the children the necessity of praying the Rosary, the necessity of suffering with Our Lord Jesus Christ and Our Lady of Sorrows.

Thus She wished to manifest her interior sentiments so as to communicate them to these children, so that these children in turn might communicate these sentiments to all those who will have the opportunity to hear their message. Then the Archangel Michael appeared to them.

Our Lady spoke to them also about the souls in purgatory, when Lucia questioned her to find out where such-and-such a soul was, where a particular dead person was—“Was she in heaven? In purgatory?”—She sometimes told them: “No, that lady is not yet in heaven, she is in purgatory.” She wished also to show them the reality of hell. It is therefore right here, in this vicinity, that the Most Blessed Virgin wished to show what hell was to these horrified children, so as to encourage them to do penance, so as to encourage them to pray to save souls, thus showing that the Immaculate Heart of Mary is altogether directed toward the glory of Her Divine Son and toward the salvation of souls.

To save souls is to cause them to go to heaven. Therefore it is our entire catechism in a way that these children saw in an image, and this happened through the grace of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary.

Prayer and Penance

Let us try then to put ourselves into this setting today too, because what happened in 1917 is still true today, and perhaps even more than at that time, because the situation in the world is even worse now than it was in 1917. The faith is disappearing, atheism is advancing everywhere, and the Most Blessed Virgin Herself announced it. For although She wished to show us a vision of heaven, She also wished to speak about the earth. She told these children essentially:

It is necessary to pray, it is necessary to do penance so as to stop the devastating effects of this terrible error, Communism, which will dominate the world if people do not do penance and if they do not pray and if they do not carry out my will.”

Her will was to broadcast the secrets that she had given to Lucia.

Alas, we are in fact obliged to note that since these secrets have not been broadcast, the error of Communism is spreading everywhere! Let us strive, then, my dear brothers and sisters, to put ourselves into this setting, in these dispositions so as to share the convictions of these children, so as to unite ourselves to the Heart of Mary, so that our hearts may burn with the desires that were in the Heart of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary and that still are there today, desires for the reign of her Son.

What else can She wish but to see Her Divine Son reign over the whole earth, over souls, over families, and over societies, as He reigns in heaven? This is why She comes down to earth, to beg us, every one of us: “It is necessary for Jesus to reign over you.” She wishes it, She desires it, and She gives us the means.

The first means is prayer

“It is necessary to pray.” The Blessed Virgin unceasingly repeated this to Lucia, because Lucia asked her the question each time: “O Lady, what do you want of me? What do you want me to do?” A fine question! There can be no better dispositions. Is this our disposition also? Mary! What do you want us to do? Then Mary said:

“It is necessary to pray, take your rosary, recite the rosary every day to sanctify yourselves and to save souls, to save the souls of sinners.”

She repeated this every time She came. She also encouraged Holy Communion, receiving the Holy Eucharist, since She even enabled the angel to come and give Communion to these children. Can Mary wish anything else but to give us Her Son, to give us Jesus in our hearts?

That We Might Keep the Faith and Grace in our Souls

Next: why these secrets? The Most Blessed Virgin Mary, in Her love for us, in Her gracious condescension toward us, wished to warn us. She wished to announce future events to us, so as to enable us to keep our faith, to keep grace in our souls. This is why She gave us Her secrets.

The Most Blessed Virgin asked Lucia to broadcast the third secret as of 1960—and that this secret be broadcast by the Pope—and not without reason: it was because she knew that after 1960 the Church would have to go through the crisis of these very serious events in its history. She wished to warn us, and She wished to warn the authorities of the Church so as to avoid these misfortunes, so as to avoid the loss of faith and the perdition of souls.

Thus we are warned, we know that after 1960 some serious events in Church history would cause a crisis, and particularly with regard to those who lead the Church. Unfortunately, this is probably why the leaders of Holy Church did not wish to broadcast the secret. They thought that it was not opportune to make it public. A great mystery, my dear brothers and sisters, a great mystery!

So you see, then, if the Most Blessed Virgin Mary wishes us to have in our souls dispositions of the love for God, dispositions of prayer, a readiness to unite ourselves to Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist, a willingness to sacrifice ourselves for the sinners of this world, well, then, let us ask for this grace today.

The Mystery of the Situation of Rome Today

Here you are, gathered around the Virgin Mary in Fatima, having in your hearts the dispositions of these little children who welcomed the Most Blessed Virgin Mary and saw Her: ask, let us ask the Most Blessed Virgin Mary to unravel this mystery, that She may come to our aid. The great mystery of Rome, the great mystery of the situation in the papacy today.

They often tell us: do not rend the Church, do not divide the Church, do not cause a schism; yet, my dear brothers and sisters, tell me: where is the unity of the Church? What causes the unity of the Church? Open all the theology books, open all the books by the saints, open all the books by the doctors and theologians: what causes the unity of the Church is the unity of faith.

When someone no longer has the Catholic Faith, he separates himself from the Church. There you have it! And every person invested with authority in the Church since Our Lord founded it, every person who has some authority in the Church and particularly all the clergy, and particularly the bishops, and especially the Pope, all of them are at the service of this unity, they are at the service of this faith: “Go teach the Gospel,” not some other Gospel and not just any Gospel: “Go teach the Gospel.” Be at the service of this message that I have given you, but you must not change the message.

Well, then, we keep and cherish the whole faith; not for anything in the world would we want to remove one iota, the least bit of our faith; we want to keep it intact, absolutely intact. And it is because we want to keep this unity of faith that those who are losing it persecute us.

This is the true current situation in which we find ourselves, a mysterious situation, probably announced by Our Lady of Fatima in Her third secret, saying that those who want to remain Catholics will be persecuted by those who, while having authority in the Church, stray from the faith; and since they stray from the Faith, they would like to drag us along with them.

Because we disobey them by our unwillingness to lose the faith with them, they persecute us. But Our Lord said it, He predicted that there would be bad shepherds and said that we must not follow the bad shepherds; we must follow the good shepherds. This is the mystery that we are living through today.

Let us ask the Blessed Virgin then to unravel this mystery for us; it is a martyrdom for you, for us, for all who live in this era, a true moral martyrdom, perhaps worse than the martyrdom of blood, to see that those who ought to preach and defend the Catholic faith for the unity of the Church are abandoning this Catholic faith and seeking to get along with the world, with modern principles, with the principles of this society that is guided more by Satan than by the Good Lord.

Ask for the Grace of Fidelity

Let us make the resolution, here at the feet of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and let us ask her for the grace to keep the faith, to remain Catholics until the end of our days, to have this grace of final perseverance in the Catholic faith.

Why did all the martyrs shed their blood? In order to keep the faith. If we must be martyrs, if we must be not martyrs by blood but martyrs in our souls, in our hearts, in our minds, well, then, we will be martyrs, and we will be the heirs of those who shed their blood so as not to deny their faith.

This is what we must promise the Most Blessed Virgin Mary and try to make everyone around us understand so that they might not lose the Faith… lest, in losing their faith, they lose their souls. These, my dear brothers and sisters, are the resolutions that we must make today: to pray, to sacrifice ourselves, to make the sacrifice of our life, to offer our life for the redemption of the world, for the salvation of souls, for the salvation of our souls, the salvation of the souls of our families, of the members of our family.

Ask That the Church may Regain Her Splendor

And finally ask for the renewal of the Holy Catholic Church: that the Church might regain her splendor, that the Church might regain her unity in the faith, that the Church might regain her thousands and thousands of religious vocations as before, that once again novitiates might be filled, that seminaries might be filled so as to keep the Catholic Faith, so as to live the Catholic Faith!

This is what we are striving to do, my dear brothers and sisters, together with those whom you see present here, these young priests, these young seminarians. As soon as people want to keep the faith, as soon as people want to keep the Sacrifice of the Mass and the true Eucharist, as soon as people are devoted body and soul to the Church, there are vocations, because we are in the truth.

Let us ask the Most Blessed Virgin Mary to bless our seminaries, to bless our young priests so that they might be apostles; to bless our religious, the Sisters of the Society, all the sisters who devote themselves to Tradition, the Carmelites, the Dominicans, the Benedictines…all these nuns who want to keep the Catholic faith and want to spread it.

And may the Virgin Mary deign to bless us so that we might continue courageously, despite the trials, to serve the kingdom of Her Divine Son. Adveniat regnum tuum, may Thy kingdom come, yes, O Lord Jesus, may Thy reign extend over persons, over families and over societies, so that this reign may continue in eternity!

† .  † .  †

The above sermon is from the August 18, 2017 edition of  FSSPX News.

Remember – Our Lady needs us to obey:  First Saturdays of Reparation, daily rosary, at least 5 mysteries, wear her brown scapular and live your Total Consecration to her Immaculate Heart, offering our daily duties in reparation and for the conversion of poor sinners.

Open your hearts to the Lord and serve Him only: and He will free you from the hands of your enemies. With all your heart return to Him, and take away from your midst any strange gods” (I Kings 7:3)

 †  Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of our hearts, Mother of the Church, do thou offer to the Eternal Father the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, for the conversion of poor sinners, especially our Pontiff.
†  Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy kingdom come! Viva Cristo Rey!
†  Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at the hour of our death.
†  St. Joseph, protect us, protect our families, protect our priests.
†  St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.

Please pray for the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary!

~ by evensong for love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, King.
Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O Sacred Virgin! Give me strength against thine enemies!

Thoughts on Purgatory

~ evensong

The following essay on purgatory comes from the Society’s News Site and is one of the best essays on Purgatory I’ve read -I believe you’ll find it worthwhile.

The Dead So Alive.

“I believe that when, freed from all union with matter, the soul finally becomes itself in the purity of its essence, and only then does it ‘think’, in the strong sense of word for the sages.”

This consoling word put on the lips of Cato, when it is meditated upon with a Christian view, throws a singular light on what the souls of the faithful who have left this world are living at this moment, these dear beings for whom the month of November is auspicious in reviving a memory that the pitiless onslaught of the years is trying to stifle little by little.

Indeed, our sanitized century strives to push back, with a barely veiled dread, the very idea of death, thus digging such an abyss between the world of the living and that of the dead, that the latter seems to constitute an unknown universe, disturbing and obscure.

Nothing could be further from the truth, however, if we take the time to consider what are both enlightening and consoling arguments of Catholic theology on this matter.

Souls in the Truth

Whether they are in Heaven or in Purgatory – this is not the place to speak of souls condemned by their own fault and who share only eternal misfortune – the souls of the deceased enjoy, albeit in different ways, a knowledge of God far more luminous than ours.

To explain this thesis, St. Thomas Aquinas resorts to the principle according to which the mode of intellectual knowledge of the separated soul – that is to say of the deceased whose soul has left the body – is similar to that of the angel. Now it is proper to the angel to be devoid of corporeal matter and therefore of the sensory organs which depend on it.

The angel does not apprehend external realities like us: where the human being reasons and passes successively from one conclusion to another, with sometimes – often, alas! – the possibility of falling into error and being guided by badly tamed passions, the angel immediately sees the conclusion in a way that is instantaneous, stable, and intuitive, that is, without any form of reasoning.

In other words, where so few men manage to realize – and when they do so at the cost of how many hesitations – what place God, this God who contains all in His hand, must hold in the conduct of life, the angel perceives this high truth in a single act of intelligence.

Conscious, in the twinkling of an eye, of its finitude as much as of its absolute dependence on its Creator governing the whole universe, the angelic creature overflows without waiting, with feelings of filial awe, thanksgiving, and silent adoration.

Our deceased who, it should be repeated, have a mode of knowledge similar to that of the angel, although to a lower degree, our deceased therefore have a perception, a feeling, and, in a word, an intuition of God that is much more acute and penetrating than that which we can ever have while we live in this vacillating world.

The souls of the faithful who have left us are therefore souls in the Truth, souls who face the Truth, who are fixed there in a consoling and indefectible way. How far from our dear departed are the dreams of independence, the disastrous illusions of a false freedom, the pretense of an existence out of time which believes, ironically enough, to be able to do without God, or worse, give Him the miserable role of a bit player!

Certainly there is a lesson to be learned here. If only, like the souls of the faithful departed, we practiced contemplation through the events of life – joys, sorrows, successes, and failures – the reflections of our own finitude, our radical impotence, and our absolute dependence on God, how the course of our lives would be transformed.

Souls Outside of Time

Time here below no longer has any hold on the souls of the faithful departed, this human, worldly time which sees unfold, as on a theater stage, the implacable drama of passions, hesitations, and all the turn about towards which our frail nature seems inexorably inclined.

Indeed, the souls who suffer in Purgatory are marked by a very particular duration that the scholastics call by the name of aevum. It is constituted time, measured by the succession of thoughts: so many thoughts, so many instants in this aevum.

Let us cast our eyes on this soul in Purgatory who strongly desires the God and who suffers from not being yet worthy, because of so many imperfections and failed acts; well, all the time left to this soul will be occupied with the mere thought of this desire. So much so that the liturgy applies these words to it: “towards You the dead sigh, burning with the desire to be released from their chains in order to finally appear in Your holy presence.”

The souls of the blessed are, for their part, in another time, that of participated eternity which consists of a single immobile moment, like a fixed point: that of a gaze full of love focused on the Trinity definitely possessed.

What a contrast this is to us, fickle creatures, who waste every moment that God, in His mercy, gives us, fluttering from one activity to another, according to our whims.

Out of time, the souls in Purgatory have not lost the memory of those who were dear to them here below; and further, the souls who have reached eternity are not disinterested in the history of men: they are so united to the justice of God, explains St. Thomas, that they do not hesitate to interfere in our earthly affairs, insofar as this divine justice which goes beyond our narrow conceptions, allows it or demands it.

Finally, is not the time of our dear deceased that which made them become passionate about God?

Each soul is able to experience, at the moment of ultimate separation, the defined dogma of faith of the particular Judgment. The infallible magisterium of the Church, through the second council of Lyons and in terms taken up later by Pope Benedict XII, teaches that immediately after death, the soul is rewarded according to its merits.

In other words, the ultimate earthly moment is, for the soul preparing to leave its body, the moment of definitive choice. Some fine minds have wondered if, immediately after the separation, the soul would still be capable of producing an act of conversion to God in extremis. This view was held by Cardinal Cajetan, an authorized commentator on St. Thomas, and followed more recently by Sister Benedict of the Cross, better known as Edith Stein.

This hypothesis, while certainly useful in highlighting the infinite mercy of God, is not followed by the majority of theologians who see in the last moment spent on Earth the decisive moment when the soul determines itself freely and definitively towards what will be its eternity: with or without God.

How precious this last moment is and many souls suffer in Purgatory from ineffable torments for having perhaps neglected its significance too much.

But it is up to us, to us who are still in human time, who are to a certain extent masters of our time, to remedy this casualness. By working first on our own spiritual perfection (however much we fall and without ever giving up) is the way we prepare the ground for this final moment when we are face to face with the divine. We can also do good by taking on us a part of the negligence that our dear deceased had in this life, by offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for their intentions, and by the application of the indulgenced prayers the Church for the deceased.

May this month of November find us faithful and generous towards the memory of our dear departed, as well as in thoughts of the death which inexorably awaits us. In this nothing is sad with regard to our faith, because, as written so aptly by Gustave Thibon: “If death ripened in our souls as it ripens in our bodies, we would go to it like a flower opening to the light, and life here below, far from being darkened by its approach, would already be bathed in its transfiguring radiance.”

† .  † . †

Our Good Lord willing, I will be able to post one more essay on purgatory for you before the end of the month; it will address purgatory and the Sabbatine Privilege. I promised that essay a while ago and am sorry it has taken me so long to complete it, but should get it posted next week. Meanwhile, please do not waste a single opportunity to gain graces for the Holy Souls. Our loving generosity towards them is so pleasing to Our Lord and each grace we earn to ease their plight, not only benefits them but redounds to our benefit at our own death and private judgement.

Remember – Our Lady needs us to obey:  First Saturdays of Reparation, daily rosary, at least 5 mysteries, wear her brown scapular and live your Total Consecration to her Immaculate Heart, offering daily duties in reparation and for the conversion of poor sinners.

Open your hearts to the Lord and serve Him only: and He will free you from the hands of your enemies. With all your heart return to Him, and take away from your midst any strange gods” (I Kings 7:3)

†  Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of our hearts, Mother of the Church, do thou offer to the Eternal Father the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, for the conversion of poor sinners, especially our Pontiff.
†  Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy kingdom come! Viva Cristo Rey!
†  Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at the hour of our death.
†  St. Joseph, protect us, protect our families, protect our priests.
†  St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.

For Saint Rafael on his Holy Day

~ evensong

It was on Saint Rafael’s Day that my husband and I first met 62 years ago.  And we have maintained an abiding devotion to him.  On more than one occasion, when we were in dire need, Saint Rafael helped us, without fail.  Now our family has Holy Mass said on great Archangel Rafael’s Holy Day and we pray at my husband’s grave, thanking Saint Rafael  for “introducing” us.. I am greatly indebted to the Society’s News page for their beautiful article on this great saint, as I was unable to provide a post of my own due to the constraints of my health. LINK.

Sermon of St. Bonaventure for the Feast of St. Raphael.

Raphael’s name means medicine from God. And we must remark that we can be rescued from evil by three benefits that St. Raphael grants us when he heals us. First Raphael, the celestial physician, rescues us from spiritual infirmity by leading us to the salutary bitterness of contrition, which refers to what Raphael said to Tobias: “As soon as you enter your house, anoint his eyes with gall.” He did so and his father received his sight.

Why shouldn’t Raphael himself perform this anointing? Because an Angel does not give compunction; his role is to show the way. In this gall, therefore, we see the image of the bitterness of contrition, which makes the inner eyes of the soul healthy; a Psalm tells us: “He heals those who are contrite in heart.” This contrition is an excellent eye wash.

Continue reading “For Saint Rafael on his Holy Day” →

Father Couture on the Holy Rosary

~ evensong

For today,  we have an article from Father Daniel Couture, F.S.S.P.X. on the Holy Rosary. Source. He reminds us of the importance of praying for our Pope, which is a non-negotiable part of Our Lady of the Rosary’s message at Fatima.

Fr Couture – On the Power and Importance of the Holy Rosary

Sermon for October 13, 2013 Tokyo Mass Center

My Dear Brethren,

We are in the middle of the important month of the Holy Rosary, month of the great victories of Our Blessed Lady, through the Holy Rosary. Sr. Lucy said that Our Blessed Lady has given more power to the Holy Rosary in view of the hard time that we were going to live, which are now, which is this terrible crisis in the Church.

It is a great grace to be able to attend the Traditional Latin Mass once a week, or once or twice a month. But on the other days, are you faithful to your daily rosary? It’s not enough to come to the Traditional Mass in order to go to heaven. You must do your personal part too to ask for God’s grace seven days a week, and that part is essentially prayer, specially the prayer of the Holy Rosary. 

“He who prays will be saved, he who doesn’t pray will be condemned”,  St Alphonsus says.

Continue reading “Father Couture on the Holy Rosary” →

That the Church May Regain Her Splendor, 2022

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Previously posted on : september 10, 2021 by : evensong

For today, we focus on the words of a saintly prelate who devoted his life to counteracting the forces of revolution set loose in the Church as a result of the refusal of the shepherds of the Church to heed Our Lady’s message at Fatima..

Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre set an example for all priests in his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and in particular, to Our Lady of the Rosary at Fatima. Today, we recall his pilgrimage to her shrine at Fatima on August 22, 1987.

Sermon by Archbishop Lefebvre in Fatima, August 22, 1987

Let us ask the Blessed Virgin then to unravel this mystery for us; it is a martyrdom for all who live in this era…Let us give thanks to God and to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary for having gathered us today, on this feast of her Immaculate Heart, to sing her praises and to try for a few moments, for a few days, to live out our faith. For if the Virgin Mary wished to come to this land of Portugal, to Fatima, if She wished to appear to these few children to give them a message for the world, it is surely because She desired that our souls be lifted up toward heaven.

Let us try, then, my dear brothers and sisters, to place ourselves in the setting in which these little shepherds found themselves, like the persons who came to accompany them on the 13th of each month of that year 1917, until the month of October, when that extraordinary miracle took place, right here. Right here because, they say, this miracle was seen within a 40-kilometer [25-mile] radius of Fatima, and consequently, if we had been present on that day, October 13, 1917, we would have seen that extraordinary phenomenon of the spinning sun, shooting out lights of all colors, drenching the entire region with its magnificent colors. And it did this for thrice ten minutes! Finally, we would have seen the sun descending as it were from heaven to draw near to the faithful who were present, to manifest the truth of the apparition of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary to these children of Fatima. Continue reading “That the Church May Regain Her Splendor, 2022” →

That the Church May Regain Her Splendor, 2021

~ evensong ~ Leave a comment
Soon, we shall see another year’s commemoration of the sixth visit of Our Lady at Fatima, Portugal in 1917. For today, we focus on the words of a saintly prelate who devoted his life to counteracting the forces of revolution set loose in the Church as a result of the refusal of the shepherds of the Church to heed Our Lady’s message.

Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre set an example for all priests in his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and in particular, to Our Lady of the Rosary at Fatima. Today, we recall his pilgrimage to her shrine at Fatima on August 22, 1987.

Sermon by Archbishop Lefebvre in Fatima, August 22, 1987

Let us ask the Blessed Virgin then to unravel this mystery for us; it is a martyrdom for all who live in this era…

Let us give thanks to God and to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary for having gathered us today, on this feast of her Immaculate Heart, to sing her praises and to try for a few moments, for a few days, to live out our faith. For if the Virgin Mary wished to come to this land of Portugal, to Fatima, if She wished to appear to these few children to give them a message for the world, it is surely because She desired that our souls be lifted up toward heaven.

Let us try, then, my dear brothers and sisters, to place ourselves in the setting in which these little shepherds found themselves, like the persons who came to accompany them on the 13th of each month of that year 1917, until the month of October, when that extraordinary miracle took place, right here. Right here because, they say, this miracle was seen within a 40-kilometer [25-mile] radius of Fatima, and consequently, if we had been present on that day, October 13, 1917, we would have seen that extraordinary phenomenon of the spinning sun, shooting out lights of all colors, drenching the entire region with its magnificent colors. And it did this for thrice ten minutes! Finally, we would have seen the sun descending as it were from heaven to draw near to the faithful who were present, to manifest the truth of the apparition of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary to these children of Fatima.

So That Our Souls May be Saved

Once again, why this apparition of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary? It was so that our souls may be saved, it was so that our souls may go to join her one day in heaven. In a few extraordinary pictures, She manifested to these children of Fatima the whole reality of our faith. Indeed, the children admired Her and admired Her in such a way that they were as if in ecstasy, rapt, carried away, not knowing how to express the beauty of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. However much anyone might have tried to provide them with comparisons, no comparison could be made in the sight of the beauty of the Virgin Mary whom they had seen.

And then the Virgin Mary was not the only one who was manifested. She wished to manifest something of heaven to them: Saint Joseph carrying Our Lord in his arms and blessing the world. She wished to appear also under the title of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Our Lady of Sorrows, and generally She appeared as Our Lady of the Rosary. This was because She wished to inculcate in the children the necessity of praying the Rosary, the necessity of suffering with Our Lord Jesus Christ and Our Lady of Sorrows. Thus She wished to manifest her interior sentiments so as to communicate them to these children, so that these children in turn might communicate these sentiments to all those who will have the opportunity to hear their message. Then the Archangel Michael appeared to them.

Our Lady spoke to them also about the souls in purgatory, when Lucia questioned her to find out where such-and-such a soul was, where a particular dead person was—“Was she in heaven? In purgatory?”—She sometimes told them: “No, that lady is not yet in heaven, she is in purgatory.” She wished also to show them the reality of hell. It is therefore right here, in this vicinity, that the Most Blessed Virgin wished to show what hell was to these horrified children, so as to encourage them to do penance, so as to encourage them to pray to save souls, thus showing that the Immaculate Heart of Mary is altogether directed toward the glory of Her Divine Son and toward the salvation of souls. To save souls is to cause them to go to heaven. Therefore it is our entire catechism in a way that these children saw in an image, and this happened through the grace of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary.

Prayer and Penance

Let us try then to put ourselves into this setting today too, because what happened in 1917 is still true today, and perhaps even more than at that time, because the situation in the world is even worse now than it was in 1917. The faith is disappearing, atheism is advancing everywhere, and the Most Blessed Virgin Herself announced it. For although She wished to show us a vision of heaven, She also wished to speak about the earth. She told these children essentially:

It is necessary to pray, it is necessary to do penance so as to stop the devastating effects of this terrible error, Communism, which will dominate the world if people do not do penance and if they do not pray and if they do not carry out my will.”

Her will was to broadcast the secrets that she had given to Lucia

Alas, we are in fact obliged to note that since these secrets have not been broadcast, the error of Communism is spreading everywhere! Let us strive, then, my dear brothers and sisters, to put ourselves into this setting, in these dispositions so as to share the convictions of these children, so as to unite ourselves to the Heart of Mary, so that our hearts may burn with the desires that were in the Heart of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary and that still are there today, desires for the reign of her Son.

What else can She wish but to see Her Divine Son reign over the whole earth, over souls, over families, and over societies, as He reigns in heaven? This is why She comes down to earth, to beg us, every one of us: “It is necessary for Jesus to reign over you.” She wishes it, She desires it, and She gives us the means.

The first means is prayer. “It is necessary to pray.” The Blessed Virgin unceasingly repeated this to Lucia, because Lucia asked her the question each time: “O Lady, what do you want of me? What do you want me to do?” A fine question! There can be no better dispositions. Is this our disposition also? Mary! What do you want us to do? Then Mary said:

“It is necessary to pray, take your rosary, recite the rosary every day to sanctify yourselves and to save souls, to save the souls of sinners.”

She repeated this every time She came. She also encouraged Holy Communion, receiving the Holy Eucharist, since She even enabled the angel to come and give Communion to these children. Can Mary wish anything else but to give us Her Son, to give us Jesus in our hearts?

That We Might Keep the Faith and Grace in our Souls

Next: why these secrets? The Most Blessed Virgin Mary, in Her love for us, in Her gracious condescension toward us, wished to warn us. She wished to announce future events to us, so as to enable us to keep our faith, to keep grace in our souls. This is why She gave us Her secrets. The Most Blessed Virgin asked Lucia to broadcast the third secret as of 1960—and that this secret be broadcast by the Pope—and not without reason: it was because she knew that after 1960 the Church would have to go through the crisis of these very serious events in its history.

She wished to warn us, and She wished to warn the authorities of the Church so as to avoid these misfortunes, so as to avoid the loss of faith and the perdition of souls. Thus we are warned, we know that after 1960 some serious events in Church history would cause a crisis, and particularly with regard to those who lead the Church. Unfortunately, this is probably why the leaders of Holy Church did not wish to broadcast the secret. They thought that it was not opportune to make it public. A great mystery, my dear brothers and sisters, a great mystery!

So you see, then, if the Most Blessed Virgin Mary wishes us to have in our souls dispositions of the love for God, dispositions of prayer, a readiness to unite ourselves to Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist, a willingness to sacrifice ourselves for the sinners of this world, well, then, let us ask for this grace today.

The Mystery of the Situation of Rome Today

Here you are, gathered around the Virgin Mary in Fatima, having in your hearts the dispositions of these little children who welcomed the Most Blessed Virgin Mary and saw Her: ask, let us ask the Most Blessed Virgin Mary to unravel this mystery, that She may come to our aid. The great mystery of Rome, the great mystery of the situation in the papacy today.

They often tell us: do not rend the Church, do not divide the Church, do not cause a schism; yet, my dear brothers and sisters, tell me: where is the unity of the Church? What causes the unity of the Church? Open all the theology books, open all the books by the saints, open all the books by the doctors and theologians: what causes the unity of the Church is the unity of faith.

When someone no longer has the Catholic Faith, he separates himself from the Church. There you have it! And every person invested with authority in the Church since Our Lord founded it, every person who has some authority in the Church and particularly all the clergy, and particularly the bishops, and especially the Pope, all of them are at the service of this unity, they are at the service of this faith: “Go teach the Gospel,” not some other Gospel and not just any Gospel: “Go teach the Gospel.” Be at the service of this message that I have given you, but you must not change the message.

Well, then, we keep and cherish the whole faith; not for anything in the world would we want to remove one iota, the least bit of our faith; we want to keep it intact, absolutely intact. And it is because we want to keep this unity of faith that those who are losing it persecute us.

This is the true current situation in which we find ourselves, a mysterious situation, probably announced by Our Lady of Fatima in Her third secret, saying that those who want to remain Catholics will be persecuted by those who, while having authority in the Church, stray from the faith; and since they stray from the Faith, they would like to drag us along with them. Because we disobey them by our unwillingness to lose the faith with them, they persecute us. 

But Our Lord said it, He predicted that there would be bad shepherds and said that we must not follow the bad shepherds; we must follow the good shepherds. This is the mystery that we are living through today.

Let us ask the Blessed Virgin then to unravel this mystery for us; it is a martyrdom for you, for us, for all who live in this era, a true moral martyrdom, perhaps worse than the martyrdom of blood, to see that those who ought to preach and defend the Catholic faith for the unity of the Church are abandoning this Catholic faith and seeking to get along with the world, with modern principles, with the principles of this society that is guided more by Satan than by the Good Lord.

Ask for the Grace of Fidelity

Let us make the resolution, here at the feet of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and let us ask her for the grace to keep the faith, to remain Catholics until the end of our days, to have this grace of final perseverance in the Catholic faith. Why did all the martyrs shed their blood? In order to keep the faith. If we must be martyrs, if we must be not martyrs by blood but martyrs in our souls, in our hearts, in our minds, well, then, we will be martyrs, and we will be the heirs of those who shed their blood so as not to deny their faith.

This is what we must promise the Most Blessed Virgin Mary and try to make everyone around us understand so that they might not lose the Faith… lest, in losing their faith, they lose their souls. These, my dear brothers and sisters, are the resolutions that we must make today: to pray, to sacrifice ourselves, to make the sacrifice of our life, to offer our life for the redemption of the world, for the salvation of souls, for the salvation of our souls, the salvation of the souls of our families, of the members of our family.

And Ask That the Church may Regain Her Splendor

And finally ask for the renewal of the Holy Catholic Church: that the Church might regain her splendor, that the Church might regain her unity in the faith, that the Church might regain her thousands and thousands of religious vocations as before, that once again novitiates might be filled, that seminaries might be filled so as to keep the Catholic Faith, so as to live the Catholic Faith! This is what we are striving to do, my dear brothers and sisters, together with those whom you see present here, these young priests, these young seminarians. As soon as people want to keep the faith, as soon as people want to keep the Sacrifice of the Mass and the true Eucharist, as soon as people are devoted body and soul to the Church, there are vocations, because we are in the truth. Let us ask the Most Blessed Virgin Mary to bless our seminaries, to bless our young priests so that they might be apostles; to bless our religious, the Sisters of the Society, all the sisters who devote themselves to Tradition, the Carmelites, the Dominicans, the Benedictines…all these nuns who want to keep the Catholic faith and want to spread it.

And may the Virgin Mary deign to bless us so that we might continue courageously, despite the trials, to serve the kingdom of Her Divine Son. Adveniat regnum tuum, may Thy kingdom come, yes, O Lord Jesus, may Thy reign extend over persons, over families and over societies, so that this reign may continue in eternity!

Originally posted in September, 2018.

† .  † .  †

The above sermon is from the August 18, 2017 edition of  FSSPX News.

I have begun trying to post articles although I am not sure I can continue, but do want to try to keep in touch. Thank you for reading – please share with others!

Remember – Our Lady needs us to obey:  First Saturdays of Reparation, daily rosary, at least 5 mysteries, wear her brown scapular and live your Total Consecration to her Immaculate Heart, offering daily duties in reparation and for the conversion of poor sinners.

Open your hearts to the Lord and serve Him only: and He will free you from the hands of your enemies. With all your heart return to Him, and take away from your midst any strange gods” (I Kings 7:3)

†  Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of our hearts, Mother of the Church, do thou offer to the Eternal Father the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, for the conversion of poor sinners, especially our Pontiff.
†  Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy kingdom come! Viva Cristo Rey!
†  Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at the hour of our death.
†  St. Joseph, protect us, protect our families, protect our priests.
†  St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.

Pray for the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary!

~ by evensong for love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, King.
Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O Sacred Virgin! Give me strength against thine enemies!

Archbishop Lefebvre on the Message of Fatima

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Newly restored post

We close the month of August, month of the Immaculate Heart  of Mary with a short sermon the good Archbishop  gave 30 years ago at Fatima. to a large crowd of pilgrims and priests on the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  There is so much to think on in these words!

Sermon by Archbishop Lefebvre in Fatima, August 22, 1987

Let us give thanks to God and to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary for having gathered us today, on this feast of her Immaculate Heart, to sing her praises and to try for a few moments, for a few days, to live out our faith. For if the Virgin Mary wished to come to this land of Portugal, to Fatima, if She wished to appear to these few children to give them a message for the world, it is surely because She desired that our souls be lifted up toward heaven.

Let us try, then, my dear brothers and sisters, to place ourselves in the setting in which these little shepherds found themselves, like the persons who came to accompany them on the 13th of each month of that year 1917, until the month of October, when that extraordinary miracle took place, right here. Right here because, they say, this miracle was seen within a 40-kilometer [25-mile] radius of Fatima, and consequently, if we had been present on that day, October 13, 1917, we would have seen that extraordinary phenomenon of the spinning sun, shooting out lights of all colors, drenching the entire region with its magnificent colors. And it did this for thrice ten minutes! Finally, we would have seen the sun descending as it were from heaven to draw near to the faithful who were present, to manifest the truth of the apparition of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary to these children of Fatima.

So That Our Souls May be Saved

Once again, why this apparition of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary? It was so that our souls may be saved, it was so that our souls may go to join her one day in heaven.

In a few extraordinary pictures, She manifested to these children of Fatima the whole reality of our faith. Indeed, the children admired Her and admired Her in such a way that they were as if in ecstasy, rapt, carried away, not knowing how to express the beauty of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. However much anyone might have tried to provide them with comparisons, no comparison could be made in the sight of the beauty of the Virgin Mary whom they had seen.

And then the Virgin Mary was not the only one who was manifested. She wished to manifest something of heaven to them: Saint Joseph carrying Our Lord in his arms and blessing the world. She wished to appear also under the title of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Our Lady of Sorrows, and generally She appeared as Our Lady of the Rosary. This was because She wished to inculcate in the children the necessity of praying the Rosary, the necessity of suffering with Our Lord Jesus Christ and Our Lady of Sorrows.

Thus She wished to manifest her interior sentiments so as to communicate them to these children, so that these children in turn might communicate these sentiments to all those who will have the opportunity to hear their message. Then the Archangel Michael appeared to them.

Our Lady spoke to them also about the souls in purgatory, when Lucia questioned her to find out where such-and-such a soul was, where a particular dead person was—“Was she in heaven? In purgatory?”—She sometimes told them: “No, that lady is not yet in heaven, she is in purgatory.” She wished also to show them the reality of hell. It is therefore right here, in this vicinity, that the Most Blessed Virgin wished to show what hell was to these horrified children, so as to encourage them to do penance, so as to encourage them to pray to save souls, thus showing that the Immaculate Heart of Mary is altogether directed toward the glory of Her Divine Son and toward the salvation of souls.

To save souls is to cause them to go to heaven. Therefore it is our entire catechism in a way that these children saw in an image, and this happened through the grace of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary.

Prayer and Penance

Let us try then to put ourselves into this setting today too, because what happened in 1917 is still true today, and perhaps even more than at that time, because the situation in the world is even worse now than it was in 1917. The faith is disappearing, atheism is advancing everywhere, and the Most Blessed Virgin Herself announced it. For although She wished to show us a vision of heaven, She also wished to speak about the earth. She told these children essentially:

It is necessary to pray, it is necessary to do penance so as to stop the devastating effects of this terrible error, Communism, which will dominate the world if people do not do penance and if they do not pray and if they do not carry out my will.”

Her will was to broadcast the secrets that she had given to Lucia.

Alas, we are in fact obliged to note that since these secrets have not been broadcast, the error of Communism is spreading everywhere! Let us strive, then, my dear brothers and sisters, to put ourselves into this setting, in these dispositions so as to share the convictions of these children, so as to unite ourselves to the Heart of Mary, so that our hearts may burn with the desires that were in the Heart of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary and that still are there today, desires for the reign of her Son.

What else can She wish but to see Her Divine Son reign over the whole earth, over souls, over families, and over societies, as He reigns in heaven? This is why She comes down to earth, to beg us, every one of us: “It is necessary for Jesus to reign over you.” She wishes it, She desires it, and She gives us the means.

The first means is prayer

“It is necessary to pray.” The Blessed Virgin unceasingly repeated this to Lucia, because Lucia asked her the question each time: “O Lady, what do you want of me? What do you want me to do?” A fine question! There can be no better dispositions. Is this our disposition also? Mary! What do you want us to do? Then Mary said:

“It is necessary to pray, take your rosary, recite the rosary every day to sanctify yourselves and to save souls, to save the souls of sinners.”

She repeated this every time She came. She also encouraged Holy Communion, receiving the Holy Eucharist, since She even enabled the angel to come and give Communion to these children. Can Mary wish anything else but to give us Her Son, to give us Jesus in our hearts?

That We Might Keep the Faith and Grace in our Souls

Next: why these secrets? The Most Blessed Virgin Mary, in Her love for us, in Her gracious condescension toward us, wished to warn us. She wished to announce future events to us, so as to enable us to keep our faith, to keep grace in our souls. This is why She gave us Her secrets.

The Most Blessed Virgin asked Lucia to broadcast the third secret as of 1960—and that this secret be broadcast by the Pope—and not without reason: it was because she knew that after 1960 the Church would have to go through the crisis of these very serious events in its history. She wished to warn us, and She wished to warn the authorities of the Church so as to avoid these misfortunes, so as to avoid the loss of faith and the perdition of souls.

Thus we are warned, we know that after 1960 some serious events in Church history would cause a crisis, and particularly with regard to those who lead the Church. Unfortunately, this is probably why the leaders of Holy Church did not wish to broadcast the secret. They thought that it was not opportune to make it public. A great mystery, my dear brothers and sisters, a great mystery!

So you see, then, if the Most Blessed Virgin Mary wishes us to have in our souls dispositions of the love for God, dispositions of prayer, a readiness to unite ourselves to Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist, a willingness to sacrifice ourselves for the sinners of this world, well, then, let us ask for this grace today.

The Mystery of the Situation of Rome Today

Here you are, gathered around the Virgin Mary in Fatima, having in your hearts the dispositions of these little children who welcomed the Most Blessed Virgin Mary and saw Her: ask, let us ask the Most Blessed Virgin Mary to unravel this mystery, that She may come to our aid. The great mystery of Rome, the great mystery of the situation in the papacy today.

They often tell us: do not rend the Church, do not divide the Church, do not cause a schism; yet, my dear brothers and sisters, tell me: where is the unity of the Church? What causes the unity of the Church? Open all the theology books, open all the books by the saints, open all the books by the doctors and theologians: what causes the unity of the Church is the unity of faith.

When someone no longer has the Catholic Faith, he separates himself from the Church. There you have it! And every person invested with authority in the Church since Our Lord founded it, every person who has some authority in the Church and particularly all the clergy, and particularly the bishops, and especially the Pope, all of them are at the service of this unity, they are at the service of this faith: “Go teach the Gospel,” not some other Gospel and not just any Gospel: “Go teach the Gospel.” Be at the service of this message that I have given you, but you must not change the message.

Well, then, we keep and cherish the whole faith; not for anything in the world would we want to remove one iota, the least bit of our faith; we want to keep it intact, absolutely intact. And it is because we want to keep this unity of faith that those who are losing it persecute us.

This is the true current situation in which we find ourselves, a mysterious situation, probably announced by Our Lady of Fatima in Her third secret, saying that those who want to remain Catholics will be persecuted by those who, while having authority in the Church, stray from the faith; and since they stray from the Faith, they would like to drag us along with them.

Because we disobey them by our unwillingness to lose the faith with them, they persecute us. But Our Lord said it, He predicted that there would be bad shepherds and said that we must not follow the bad shepherds; we must follow the good shepherds. This is the mystery that we are living through today.

Let us ask the Blessed Virgin then to unravel this mystery for us; it is a martyrdom for you, for us, for all who live in this era, a true moral martyrdom, perhaps worse than the martyrdom of blood, to see that those who ought to preach and defend the Catholic faith for the unity of the Church are abandoning this Catholic faith and seeking to get along with the world, with modern principles, with the principles of this society that is guided more by Satan than by the Good Lord.

Ask for the Grace of Fidelity

Let us make the resolution, here at the feet of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and let us ask her for the grace to keep the faith, to remain Catholics until the end of our days, to have this grace of final perseverance in the Catholic faith.

Why did all the martyrs shed their blood? In order to keep the faith. If we must be martyrs, if we must be not martyrs by blood but martyrs in our souls, in our hearts, in our minds, well, then, we will be martyrs, and we will be the heirs of those who shed their blood so as not to deny their faith.

This is what we must promise the Most Blessed Virgin Mary and try to make everyone around us understand so that they might not lose the Faith… lest, in losing their faith, they lose their souls. These, my dear brothers and sisters, are the resolutions that we must make today: to pray, to sacrifice ourselves, to make the sacrifice of our life, to offer our life for the redemption of the world, for the salvation of souls, for the salvation of our souls, the salvation of the souls of our families, of the members of our family.

Ask That the Church may Regain Her Splendor

And finally ask for the renewal of the Holy Catholic Church: that the Church might regain her splendor, that the Church might regain her unity in the faith, that the Church might regain her thousands and thousands of religious vocations as before, that once again novitiates might be filled, that seminaries might be filled so as to keep the Catholic Faith, so as to live the Catholic Faith!

This is what we are striving to do, my dear brothers and sisters, together with those whom you see present here, these young priests, these young seminarians. As soon as people want to keep the faith, as soon as people want to keep the Sacrifice of the Mass and the true Eucharist, as soon as people are devoted body and soul to the Church, there are vocations, because we are in the truth.

Let us ask the Most Blessed Virgin Mary to bless our seminaries, to bless our young priests so that they might be apostles; to bless our religious, the Sisters of the Society, all the sisters who devote themselves to Tradition, the Carmelites, the Dominicans, the Benedictines…all these nuns who want to keep the Catholic faith and want to spread it.

And may the Virgin Mary deign to bless us so that we might continue courageously, despite the trials, to serve the kingdom of Her Divine Son. Adveniat regnum tuum, may Thy kingdom come, yes, O Lord Jesus, may Thy reign extend over persons, over families and over societies, so that this reign may continue in eternity!

† .  † .  †

The above sermon is from the August 18, 2017 edition of  FSSPX News.

Remember – Our Lady needs us to obey:  First Saturdays of Reparation, daily rosary, at least 5 mysteries, wear her brown scapular and live your Total Consecration to her Immaculate Heart, offering our daily duties in reparation and for the conversion of poor sinners.

Open your hearts to the Lord and serve Him only: and He will free you from the hands of your enemies. With all your heart return to Him, and take away from your midst any strange gods” (I Kings 7:3)

 †  Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of our hearts, Mother of the Church, do thou offer to the Eternal Father the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, for the conversion of poor sinners, especially our Pontiff.
†  Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy kingdom come! Viva Cristo Rey!
†  Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at the hour of our death.
†  St. Joseph, protect us, protect our families, protect our priests.
†  St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.

Please pray for the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary!

~ by evensong for love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, King.
Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O Sacred Virgin! Give me strength against thine enemies!

Prayer and Penance for the Pope

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“The Society of Saint Pius X prays and does penance for the Pope, that he might have the strength to proclaim Catholic faith and morals in their entirety. In this way he will hasten the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary that we earnestly desire as we approach the centennial of the apparitions in Fatima.” (Communique by the Superior of the SSPX)

 

At the conclusion of the meeting of the major superiors of the Society of Saint Pius X that was held in Switzerland, from June 25 to 28, 2016, the Superior General addressed the following communiqué:

The purpose of the Society of Saint Pius X is chiefly the formation of priests, the essential condition for the renewal of the Church and for the restoration of society.

  1. In the great and painful confusion that currently reigns in the Church, the proclamation of Catholic doctrine requires the denunciation of errors that have made their way into it and are unfortunately encouraged by a large number of pastors, including the Pope himself.
  2. The Society of Saint Pius X, in the present state of grave necessity which gives it the right and duty to administer spiritual aid to the souls that turn to it, does not seek primarily a canonical recognition, to which it has a right as a Catholic work. It has only one desire: faithfully to bring the light of the bi-millennial Tradition which shows the only route to follow in this age of darkness in which the cult of man replaces the worship of God, in society as in the Church.
  3. The “restoration of all things in Christ” intended by Saint Pius X, following Saint Paul (cf. Ep.h 1:10), cannot happen without the support of a Pope who concretely favors the return to Sacred Tradition. While waiting for that blessed day, the Society of Saint Pius X intends to redouble its efforts to establish and to spread, with the means that Divine Providence gives to it, the social reign of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
  4. The Society of Saint Pius X prays and does penance for the Pope, that he might have the strength to proclaim Catholic faith and morals in their entirety. In this way he will hasten the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary that we earnestly desire as we approach the centennial of the apparitions in Fatima.

Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X
Ecône, June 29, 2016
The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul
(Source :  DICI dated June 29, 2016)

 

In this message, the Society once again confirms their purpose, the formation of truly Catholic priests, which are essential for the salvation of souls, the work of the Church on earth. In yesterday’s article, we quoted Archbishop Lefebvre’s words with which he began his address 29 years ago:

“Let us give thanks to God who allows us once more to meet together again in Ecône to take part in the magnificent ceremony of priestly ordinations, ceremony which is the reason for our seminaries’ existence and their crowning glory.”  Abp. Lefebvre then explained that, “this Catholic Mass has been, is now, and will always be the great programme of the priestly life, the great programme of Christian life.”  That is to say, The purpose of the Society is to preserve the sacred priesthood in order to preserve the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which is essential to the faith of the Church, both priest and laity.

The first point made by Bishop Fellay was that the painful confusion in the church is actually encouraged (rather than condemned) by the authorities, even by the Pope himself. We all need to understand that this statement, quite obvious to anyone who observes the current status with a truly Catholic sense, is actually a very brave statement of the truth by a prelate in the Church, in other words, Bishop Fellay is one prelate fearlessly speaking the truth to the revolutionaries who occupy the Church’s visible structures. It is tragic to see so many ostensibly Catholic blogs still disparaging the SSPX while at the same time bemoaning that there are no prelates speaking up for the truth.

In his speech 29 years ago, Archbishop Lefebvre spoke of the darkness in Rome: “Rome is in darkness, in the darkness of error. There is no denying it. Impossible to deny it.”  And 29 years later, Msgr. Fellay continued to confirm the truth first uttered by Abp. Lefebvre.

The second point reiterated is the ‘state of necessity’ argument, which must be always brought out even though those who are willfully blind will persist in their refusal to acknowledge it. Even in the face of the present pontiff’s demolition derby, the professional catholic commentariat and their blind followers persist.

In the third point, there is a subtle point made. Restoration of the Faith “cannot happen without the support of a Pope who concretely favors the return to Sacred Tradition.”  In the following sentence, “While waiting for that blessed day, the Society of Saint Pius X intends to redouble its efforts to establish and to spread, with the means that Divine Providence gives to it, the social reign of Our Lord Jesus Christ”, Bishop Fellay deftly affirms that the current occupant of the See of Peter is not the man for the job. “While awaiting that blessed day” is a beautifully clear statement of the status of the Church at present! The last part of the sentence, affirms that the Society will redouble its efforts to use whatever means allowed by Divine Providence to continue to strive for the social reign of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

While others have commented that this phrase indicates a sort of signal to Rome that they remain open to further negotiations, we need to put this in perspective. The Society of St. Pius X, from the moment of its inception has never at any time closed itself off from negotiations with Rome. Of course, they remain open to Rome, they are loyal Catholics. However, the point was made very precisely that the Society intends to double down on the social reign of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King. This one point caused me to adore and praise and glorify God all the more in thanksgiving. Nowhere else in the Church today do I see that proclaimed as clearly!

The final point is to my mind the most important of all, and is a fitting cap to the three foregoing points.

“The Society of Saint Pius X prays and does penance for the Pope, that he might have the strength to proclaim Catholic faith and morals in their entirety. In this way he will hasten the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary that we earnestly desire as we approach the centennial of the apparitions in Fatima.” 

Here we see the proper response to the trials we are going through: prayer and penance! Always, prayer and penance! Where else in the Church today will you find that message, so urgently needed?

In earlier articles, I have remarked how I fell into confusion and left the institutional church after attempting for more than 20 years to reconcile the Novus Ordo church with the perennial Faith. I never stopped believing the Faith as I had been taught it, but became confused and disheartened by the cognitive dissonance between the two. When I returned to the Faith, it was through the true message of Fatima, as I began to understand it thanks to Father Gruner and his Fatima Apostolate. It began to make sense, the darkness, the destruction, the diabolical disorientation caused by disobedience of the popes and hierarchy.

And so, we returned to the faith through the Message of Fatima, and were soon drawn to the Society’s Masses, due to their adherence to Our Lady of Fatima. Today, the Society is alone among the Bishops of the Church in unabashed support of the Fatima message.

We await the pope who will obey Our Lady of the Rosary, who will consecrate with his Bishops, Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and lead the Church in making reparation for these years of iniquity and destruction. When that blessed day dawns, it will be in part because the Society of St. Pius X kept the message of Fatima alive and promoted the true message throughout their Chapels and Seminaries everywhere.

Remember – Our Lady needs us to obey:  First Saturdays of Reparation, daily rosary, at least 5 mysteries, wear her brown scapular and live your Total Consecration to her Immaculate Heart, offering daily duties in reparation and for the conversion of poor sinners.

†  Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of our hearts, Mother of the Church, do thou offer to the Eternal Father the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, for the conversion of poor sinners, especially our Pontiff.

† Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy Kingdom come – Viva Cristo Rey!

† Most Precious Blood of Jesus, save our priests!

† St. Joseph, Guardian of the Holy Family, protect our families.

† St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.

~ by evensong, for love of the Immaculata

Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O Sacred Virgin! Give me strength against thine enemies!

The Call to Arms – Updated

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posted on January 25, 2014 by evensong

Are you armed for the battle? If you belong to the Mystical Body of Christ, you ought to be. This then, is a call to arms!

“Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array?” (Canticles, 6, 9)
R. Thanks be to God.
V. Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O Sacred Virgin.
R. Give me strength against thine enemies.
V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come unto Thee.

The prayer above is from the hour of Prime in the traditional Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Those who say it often are familiar with the frequent references to battle and enemies that run through the Little Office. They imply the ancient battle between good and evil, damnation and salvation; to the “enmity between thy seed and her seed”; that is between satan and the Savior born of the Immaculate Virgin. For centuries, this has been the earnest prayer of those who are called to embrace Mary, the Immaculate Mother of our Savior as their own Mother. We are not called to simply enjoy the comforts of her love in pious prayer,  but to serve our Queen actively in this ongoing battle. 

Members of the Church on earth are referred to as the Church Militant for good reason. We maintain our spiritual mettle by frequent acts of sacrifice and penance. Indeed, a penitential heart is as essential as prayer for our salvation and for our success in converting sinners. Truly Mary the Immaculata heads an army “in vast array” as the scriptures reveal; and now here we are in the midst of the most powerful and aggressively materialistic society that ever waged war on Christ’s Kingdom. If our prayers are simply smug and comfortable in this time of severe trial, aren’t we failing our “Generals” who show their willingness to suffer for us in their Sorrowful and Sacred Hearts?

It has been 40 years since our country legalized the murder of innocents and now, millions of babies later, our nation has the most aggressively anti-life, anti-Catholic president in American history. This administration was elected and re-elected by “Catholics”. It is staffed by “Catholics” in influential positions. Yes, this monster was elected and re-elected with the complicity of Catholic leaders and Bishops and even supported by those Catholics among our friends and family. But pointing fingers is a fruitless exercise.Despite having a pope who urges us not to “obsess” over abortion, we do have an obligation to oppose evil.

Today, we have a Pope who is the epitome of a modernist. He has been very clear in stating his objectives which do not appear to be congruent with defending and promoting the Catholic faith as it has been taught, believed and practiced for 2,000 years. If we fail to recognise the threat and defend our faith at this crucial time, we shall surely lose it. In this spiritual combat we have an obligation to use the arms of Our Virgin Queen, the Immaculata in her Message of Fatima.

Let’s do as our Lady’s Little Office teaches us. Each day, we pray, “Give me strength against thine enemies”. As Catholics, we must be always in combat against the enemies of our salvation. For when we are lulled into complacency, or mired in self pity and bitterness and the injustices of others, we are losing ground and in danger of losing this battle for our soul and all the souls entrusted to us. Throughout the history of the Church, Catholics have always found their strength and wisdom in the Cross of Christ. We can never forget that our King wears a Crown of Thorns.

The Catholic Armory

At Fatima, Our Lady of the Rosary gave us an armory for this battle. It consists of her Rosary, the Holy Eucharist, her brown scapular and reparation by the Five First Saturdays of Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The devotion of the Five First Saturdays contains within itself all the beauties of Catholic devotion, uniting the Eucharistic Sacrifice with our sacrifices and with both the Rosary and meditative prayer.  It has the potential to strengthen us powerfully in our Faith, so that we can truly be the warriors Our Blessed Mother intends us to be in the anti-Catholic storm that is now breaking upon us.

First Saturdays of Reparation

In her Five First Saturdays, Our Lady of Fatima asks that we:
* Confession
* Receive Holy Communion
* Pray 5 decades of her Rosary
* Spend 15 minutes with her in meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary.
All this must be done with the intention of making reparation to her Immaculate Heart.

Reparation is the key to it all. When Jesus first began to preach His message was, “Do penance, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”. (Matthew 4, 17) Throughout our history the Church has strengthened itself with programs of penance and prayer during challenging times. Yet today for some reason, prayer is emphasized while penance is neglected. When was the last time you heard a priest give a sermon on making reparation for sin? So let us in these Five First Saturdays pick up the neglected pennant of reparation and hold it high once more.

If you attend an Indult or Moto Proprio Mass in a Novus Ordo parish, ask your Pastor for Latin Mass on First Saturdays. We did that in our parish and although our priest was unable to comply, we asked around the diocese and located another priest who agreed to offer the Traditional Latin Mass on First Saturdays. It can be done! And now we have the opportunity to make our reparation in the Latin Mass that was the Mass of Sister Lúcia of Fatima and of St. Pio of Pietrelcina!

How ingenious the simple program of the First Saturdays is! By obligating ourselves to offer Our Blessed Mother these Five First Saturdays, we soon notice that it is a real sacrifice. For most of us, Saturdays are the busiest days of the week and the first Saturday of the month is even busier yet. Add to this the commitment for an entire sequence of them, without missing one!

So the element of sacrifice, of penance and of perseverance is nicely supported. This penitential attitude is the most overlooked element of Catholic spirituality today.  Devout Catholics have been praying their rosaries in increasing numbers as they watch with dismay the dismantling of the bastions of our Faith and our culture. But perhaps we have grown a bit lax in the penance department. In these last few years of my life, it is clear that I have failed to offer God enough penance for my loved ones who have suffered the loss of their Faith. Prayers, yes, many; but penances, not so much, sadly. At Fatima, Our Lady did not just ask for prayer, she asked for prayer and reparation.

Please spread this devotion! Consider that pastors may be more amenable to the devotion of the Five First Saturdays if presented now as a response to the threats we face against our religion and the imperative of the new evangelization. So try to extend this devotion and you may be delightfully surprised at how much Our Lady will bless your efforts!

The Rosary Crusade, 2014

Since the above was posted, the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) has called for a Rosary Crusade. This Crusade emphasizes the importance of our compliance with our Lady’s requests for penance to accompany our prayers. The intentions of the Crusade are three:

  • To implore from the Immaculate Heart of Mary a special protection for the traditional apostolate
  • For the return of tradition within the Church
  • For the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary by the consecration of Russia (according to her request).

This Crusade, began Jan. 1 and ends at Pentecost, June 8, 2014, and you can join at any time.  Bishop Fellay stressed the importance of embracing the Cross of Our Lord and having confidence in the grace of the Mass. In this, he was echoing the words of the holy founder of the Society, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. Sister Lucia of Fatima also insisted that the Blessed Virgin did not just ask us to pray for sinners, she asked us to pray and sacrifice for sinners. It is not too late to join in this Crusade for the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

If we want a better Church, we must make reparation as well as pray for the purging and restoration of the Church. The restoration begins with us.

Above all, we trust in the Sacred Heart of Jesus and in the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Viva Cristo Rey!

(Originally posted by evensong in April, 2013.)